It’s the time of year I kind of like the most…….. the annual VW show that’s right on our doorstep; Leeds VW Festival at Harewood House – just six miles away from home.

Billy the Bulli and Vince Bully Bus have both been prepped; Ale has been purchased in sinful amounts and nibbles are ready to be consumed by the countless friends that pop by to say, ‘HELLO!’ Come what may, we’ll be setting up camp tomorrow afternoon and hopefully updating the blog over the weekend at regular intervals……. fingers crossed……

The weather forecast says that there might be rain over the weekend – it’s been kind of a tradition with LVW Fest over the last seven years…… But this is the first time it’s scheduled to run as a full weekend event though. I hope there’s no mud! Regardless, I think it’ll be a good weekend at Camp Big Blue whether the sun shines or not……. 😉

Will there be evidence of fibre related goodies? You bet yer life there will! Lots of hand knitted and crocheted daftness, plus some rather gorgeous vintage glamping essentials and a few tea trolleys added in for good measure……. and that’s just in our tent 😉

A sneaky peek?

Festival Owl Hat: Pattern courtesy of the very talented mamachee on Etsy 😉

Owls are a bit of a Leeds thing; They’re also set to be the uber cool theme in accessories (Again!!!!!) this Autumn.

You know what they say………. Get ahead; Get a hat!

And I know of a nice little trade tent in the heart of Yorkshire where they’ll sort you out just right…. 😉

I’m a Lancashire lass that lives in the heart of Yorkshire; From the lofty heights of the Bramley hill that our house was built on there’s a good view of the surrounding area, including a place just over the way called Rombald’s Moor. And nestled at the foot of this moor is a little town called Ilkley.

Billy the Bulli at the Cow and Calf Rocks, Ilkley.

After addressing recent symptoms of van flu Mr Other Half decided that Billy the Bulli needed a bit of a run out – just to make sure that all was truly well in the engine bay. So Ilkley Moor (an area of the larger Rombald’s Moor), and home of the famous Cow and Calf rocks, was our destination for the day.

A light packed lunch.

Billy’s kitchen isn’t quite so well equipped as Vince Bully Bus’.

Happily, Mr OH is a bit of a whizz with all things VW and Billy performed exceptionally well without a hitch; even a rather long and steep road that formed part of our ascent was no match for our trusty little bulli 😉

Billy has a rest in the car park whilst me and Mr OH tackle a short climb up to the top of the ‘cow’.

The Cow and Calf or Hangingstone rocks are so called because one is big and the other small – rather like a mother cow and its baby. Yorkshire folk certainly don’t mince their words when it comes to calling a spade a spade, but I much prefer the local legend of a giant named Rombald, who split the stones whilst fleeing from his angry wife – surely that tale has a certain ring of truth about it; either way, it makes for a much more exciting explanation than the scientific fact that the rocks are actually just glacial debris left over from the last Ice Age.

The Cow and Calf.

The rocks are a form of sandstone known as Millstone Grit; most are covered with carved inscriptions from previous visitors to the area – a tradition that has seemingly existed for thousands of years with Rombald’s Moor containing the second highest concentration of ancient carved stones in the whole of Europe.

19th Century carved inscriptions on the rocks.

A local soldier leaves his mark on one of the stones of Rombald’s Moor – whilst the Spa town of Ilkley (Olicana in Roman times) nestles quietly down below.

A bit of a moorland hike and gentle climb, one packed lunch of assorted sandwiches, two cups of coffee each and a rather nice ice cream cone dressed with a Cadbury’s Flake and chocolate sauce drizzles saw us eventually bid farewell to the scenes of our latest adventure. We had survived a romp on Ilkley moor without a hat – unlike Mary Jane’s suitor who succumbs to the worms through poor wardrobe choices if the famous Yorkshire anthem is anything to go by!

The return journey home was equally hitch free and even saw us pulling up at a local ale house for the obligatory dust busting pint before finally tucking Billy up for the night in his cozy little garage; what a lucky little bulli he is!

Two pints of lager and a packet of Pork Scratchings please!

Now off to make a suitable hat should we return any time soon – hope the wrist can stand up to the challenge!